- Civic Reception
- People of The Year
- First Telecom Meeting
- Background to August 97
- Even Older Stuff
Castlebar Has Made a Date With The Future
Castlebar Has Made a Date With The Future
CIAT Committee met with Des McLaughlin, Telecom's Information Age Co-ordinator on Mar 6 1998.
A meeting to discuss CIAT's plans for spending the £1M Information Age Competition prize in Castlebar was held on Mar 6. Plans are progressing with a contract to purchase 1500 top of the range computers for Castlebar. Because of bulk purchasing these will be made available at a substantial discount to those living in Castlebar. Details of price and eligibility will be published shortly both here and in the local newspapers and media. Other aspects of the project proposals such as the Castlebar Digital Park are also progressing but commercial confidentiality means that details cannot be revealed as yet. The schools in Castlebar have also received the first round of multimedia computers and ISDN lines will shortly be installed. A fibre optic ring is currently being installed around the town to allow broadband access for commercial subscribers. Voice mail for all Castlebar Telecom subscribers will also be made available in the near future. All of Castlebar's telephones are now digital
Castlebar Information Age Town Committee Civic ReceptionThe Castlebar Information Age Town Committee were given a Civic Reception at Marsh House on Friday 31st October by Castlebar Urban District Council in recognition of their achievements in securing a £1Million award for Castlebar in the Telecom Information Age Town Competition. Members of the Committee present included Richard Wynne , Frank Greene, Regina McGarrigle, John Condon, Finian Joyce, Tony Mannion, Ann Crowley, Michael Gavin, Mark Coyne, Martin Waters, Pat Jennings, Michael Duffy, Robert Coyne. The award was presented by Kieran 'Blackie' Gavin, Chairman of Castlebar Urban District Council.
Castlebar Information Age Town Wins a "Mayo People of Year" Award
The Castlebar Information Age Town Committee received an award in the Rehab 5th annual Mayo People of the Year Awards in recognition of their work in the Telecom Information Age Town Competition. The award was presented at a ceremony in the Hotel Westport on Friday 28th November 1997. Awards were also presented to seven other winning individuals and groups working in County Mayo.
Castlebar Information Age Town Committee meets Telecom
The first discussions with Telecom representatives on the spending of the £1M award received by Castlebar took place in Castlebar on Friday 31st October. A well-thought out document i.e. Castlebar's 'shopping list' was presented by the CIAT Committee to Telecom and this was well received by Telecom representatives. The proposals will be studied in detail by Telecom. It is hoped that most, if not all, of the proposals presented will be funded or part-funded as part of Castlebar's Information Age Competition award. Included were:
infrastructure for the Castlebar Digital Enterprise Park,
digital voice mail, retention of the Information Age Centre and a number of educational and community projects. In addition a range of exciting commercial projects was included which, for commercial reasons, must remain confidential at this early stage.
August 1997
On Sunday 27 July 1997 Telecom Eireann announced that Castlebar is one of only four towns short-listed for Ireland's Information Age Town Competition. This prestigious and valuable competition could be worth up to £15M to Castlebar if we win.
The aim is to install advanced Information Age Infrastructure in the winning town in order to provide a test-bed for the new Information Age. This will give Telecom and associated commercial companies a significant insight into what will happen when this type of technology is installed on a widespread basis rather than just in the homes of the privileged. The winning town will benefit in having low-cost access to a whole range of new technologies but will also have to play its part in providing feedback to Telecom and other Information Age companies involved in the project. It is expected that a number of high tech companies will be more than interested in taking part in the experiment. The facilities envisaged would rival those of 'the Valley' (i.e. silicon valley in california) if Castlebar wins.
The Castlebar Information Age Town Committee heartily thanks the people of Castlebar who contributed to the initial submission and made it possible to get this far. Virtually all business, clubs and societies in the town have made submissions for the competition proposal. This has paid off and now Castlebar has now been selected from 51 towns as one of only four towns reaching the next stage of the competition. The judges visited Castlebar on August 25th as part of the process of making their final decision.
The Gardai estimated that there were about 5000 people on the mall at 5 pm when he judges appeared on the public platform. The crowd demonstrated above all else that the people of Castlebar are fully behind the project. Because of this widespread enthusiasm and commitment Telecom need have no worries that the project will be a roaring success if Castlebar is chosen as a pilot testbed for the up and coming Information Age.
The judges were given a presentation in the Council Chamber in Aras an Contae by Regina McGarrigle and Rory Casey and then shown a number of key projects including the Information Age Centre on Ellison Street, the computer education programme for the Boys of St Patricks National School (which is already in place from Infants to 6th class), The Mayo Library / Microsoft centre of excellence project, the IT facilities and projects under way in Baxter, Volex and the Hospital.